Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Purchased by Claro Advisors LLC

Claro Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 64.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,039 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,188 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $457,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 262.1% in the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 97.8% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. The trade was a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The trade was a 13.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of ROST stock opened at $141.30 on Tuesday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.53 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $145.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $144.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.79, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.32 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ROST shares. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.00.

Ross Stores Company Profile

Ross Stores, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates off-price retail apparel and home fashion stores under the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS brand names in the United States. Its stores primarily offer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashions. The company’s Ross Dress for Less stores sell its products at department and specialty stores to middle income households; and dd’s DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.